


Cousin, Where Art Thou?

by starconvoy



Category: The Railway Series - W. Awdry, Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends, Thomas the Tank Engine - All Media Types
Genre: Cousins, Family Feels, Family Reunions, Gen, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-09
Updated: 2019-01-09
Packaged: 2019-10-06 23:41:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17354858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starconvoy/pseuds/starconvoy
Summary: In which Spencer and Scott meet for the first time in several decades at least. Spencer tells his backstory in this so I don’t need to expand too much on it. Slight angst, but a lot more light-hearted than my other stories. It's a little thrown together and doesn’t end very well so I may go back and fix that up at some point. humansof-york.tumblr.com





	Cousin, Where Art Thou?

_2004—_

Spencer pulled into York station with his single coach. The few passengers on board got off and he made his way to the sidings, hoping for a break. The Duke and Duchess had a lot of business to take care of today and Spencer felt like he had taken them from one end of the country to the other.

Once he drew near the sidings, he saw an engine standing there who he thought he would never see again.

_It can’t be…_

The apple green livery brought back memories of the old days. A corridor tender with the letters LNER painted on its side trailed behind a large engine which bore a set of German-style smoke deflectors. Only one engine he knew of still existed who had those smoke deflectors.

“Flying…Scotsman?”

Spencer pulled alongside and stared wide eyed. The engine next to him looked older now and had a worn look in his face. The old spark that used to be there was replaced by a touch of weariness.

“Yes? And who might you be? Bittern isn’t playing masquerade games right now and you look nothing like her,” Scott said, raising an eyebrow.

“Spencer,” Spencer said in reply before biting his tongue.  _He probably has no idea…_

Scott frowned, confused. “’Spencer’? I…don’t recall having a cousin with that name. Are you a new build?”

Spencer opened his mouth, but wasn’t sure what to say. He’d left his old self behind once the Duke had taken him away from the hands of the workers at the scrapyards.

“W-well,” he began. “I’m not a new build. In fact, I’m…I’m much older than that.”

Scott studied Spencer closely. “You don’t have a number…strange. And your livery reminds me of…the early A4s.” Spencer didn’t say a word and kept his eyes trained on the tracks in front of him.

“Wait.”

Spencer looked back at Scott and noticed a look of recognition.

“Silver…Link?”

The world seemed to spin as memories came flooding back. Spencer hadn’t heard his real name in so long that it almost seemed detached from him now.

“Yes,” he said, searching Scott’s face and hoping he wouldn’t find something bad.

“Good Gresley, I didn’t think any of you had survived,” Scott breathed. “Where have you been this whole time?  _How_  did you survive? How come no one has told me about you?”

Spencer felt his breath catch in his throat. How could he possibly explain that he had chosen to leave his identity behind and continue as…a new engine?

“I’ve been around,” Spencer said, avoiding giving a straight answer. “It’s been complicated, Scotsman. I haven’t really been around any family in a long time…or anyone else around here.”

Scott watched Spencer with a look of concern. “Where are you working?”

“I’m a private engine!” Spencer said, perking up. “I’m owned by a Duke and I take him wherever he needs to go…on rail at least.”

Scott’s face hadn’t changed during that explanation. Spencer felt a blip of anxiety in his boiler.

“Is…something wrong?”

“You’re a private engine now and you haven’t been around any of your siblings? Union is privately owned, and I still see her and Sir Nigel out and about. Silver Link—”

“It’s Spencer now,” Spencer cut in.

“Sure, Spencer, whatever. I still don’t understand. You were bound for scrap in the 60s now all of a sudden 40 years have passed, you’re alive, and you haven’t seen or talked to any of your siblings?”

Spencer cringed. Scott made a good point; it made him seem like a shut-in.  _However…_

“I mean…I’m sure they’re busy…Union and Sir Nigel. And I’ve been told Dominion of Canada and Dwight are in North America so I’m never going to see them. And I have no desire to see the ‘sitting duck’…”

_‘The darling of the A4s’…what a joke…_ , he thought to himself.

“No one wants to see Mallard,” Scott said in a dark tone, drawing Spencer’s attention again.

“You’re owned by the NRM now, aren’t you?” Spencer asked, grateful to change the subject although it was just as uncomfortable.

“Yes,” Scott said, his voice and expression carefully neutral. “Why?”

“You have to put up with him.”

“Not every day now that I’m out earning my place by pulling rail tours. When I first got there, he gave me quite the…sermon about what I had been doing for the past few decades,” Scott said bitterly. “Still doesn’t change what you’ve been up to,” he added, turning the subject back to Spencer.

Spencer frowned down at his buffers. “Yes, well, at least I haven’t been sitting on a museum plinth for the past few decades. I’ve been making myself useful.”

“And scarce,” Scott added. He sighed. “I’m sorry, Silver Link. I am happy to see you. In fact, I’m rather surprised to see you. I just… _where have you been?_ ”

Spencer could hear the exasperation in Scott’s voice. Of the few Gresleys who remained, he would have had the easiest time reaching out to Scott during his wayward years and he knew now that Scott was likely disappointed knowing he hadn’t said anything. He chewed at his lip while carefully finding his words.

“I’ve been…hiding, I guess. I didn’t want anyone to see me. I didn’t want…I didn’t want these questions to come up.” He sighed sadly. “I’m sorry for that. I could have reached out to you, to see if you needed help…obviously you did, but thankfully things have worked out for you now. I just…I wanted to leave the past behind and live a new life…as a different engine.”

Scott watched him patiently. A cloud of gloom had darkened Spencer’s face and as the pause stretched on, Scott knew he would need to prod to get more out of his lost cousin.

“Why did you want to leave your past behind? You were famous.”

Spencer’s face twisted into a sneer. “Not for long.”

Scott raised his eyebrows. “Ah, I see. You’re still holding onto that—”

“No, I’m not,” Spencer cut in. “I don’t give a damn about his record. It’s been beaten countless times over by more modern engines, so it doesn’t mean much to humans now anyway.”

Scott could see the glint of an old hatred in Spencer’s eyes. There it was.

“And that’s why you left your identity behind.”

Spencer looked downcast again. “The name ‘Silver Link’ held no value in Sir Nigel Gresley’s eyes after Mallard became his favorite.”

Scott didn’t respond to that. He knew exactly how Spencer felt with the way the A3s had been replaced by the A4s. And to have a second chance at a new life…to escape scrapping…it seemed like fate had brought them back together.

“I guess you and I share a lot in common than I thought,” Scott said quietly. Spencer looked up at him and Scott gave him a tired smile.

“You and I should talk more. After all, it’s nice having someone who understands you. Unfortunately, my next train is due so I need to leave.”

Spencer watched in silence as Scott slowly began to back out of the sidings.

“If I don’t see you, can I write? My schedule isn’t as structured as yours,” Spencer called.

“Of course!” Scott replied.

“It was nice meeting you again, Spencer.”

“And the same to you, Scott.”


End file.
